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Saturday, December 31, 2022

Homecoming - a Book Report

 Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World by Rana Foroohar.

Wow. What can I say about this book to get you to read it? When I first read Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow, I felt like every page was a new, fresh insight. It is the same with this book. Every page offers a fresh insight, a new piece of information, a surprising technology, a new bit of history, a really bright idea. The basic topic is the failure of the neo-liberal globalization of the free market economy.The author is a journalist, an editor for The Financial Times.  She builds her case well. This is an excerpt from a review:

She says that for decades, the neoliberal economic philosophy of prioritizing efficiency over resilience and profits over local prosperity has produced massive inequality, persistent economic insecurity, and distrust in our institutions. Place-based economics and a wave of technological innovations now make it possible to keep operations, investment and wealth closer to home, wherever that may be. With the pendulum of history swinging back, Foroohar explores both the challenges and the possibilities of this new era, and how she says it can usher in a more equitable and prosperous future.

The problem is that by the time you are halfway through the book, you realize that the problems and potentials she describes are very complex. We humans have created an economic and political engine of extreme complexity. I am fairly bright, but most of this has simply escaped my notice over the past few decades. Given the scope of the problems, she is amazingly positive on the future prospects for change. But I am wondering just how many business leaders, economists and politicians have the capacity to grasp the scope of the problems she explains, and have the initiative to undertake these innovative efforts to move the world forward. How many would ever even pick up the book to begin to learn a little about global economic and social trends?

To encourage you to read the book, here is some of the content that impressed me.

China is the key threat to world order. China grew tremendously under the neoliberal free trade and fair exchange approach. And they took advantage of the rest of the world. The hope was that their participation in the global economy would also encourage them to adopt a more open and free society. The reverse is true. China and other parts of Asia have almost complete control of large segments of our economy, especially computer chip manufacturing, solar power, batteries, etc.. 

Xi Jinping, the current leader of China with a new lifetime office, claims to be building “a community of common destiny for all mankind” and wants Chinese-style techno authoritarianism to be copied by countries around the world. Xi has called on people with Chinese heritage anywhere on earth, no matter their citizenship, to join together as “sons and daughters of the Yellow Emperor” who are obliged to work for the “great rejuvenation” in whatever way the party deems fit.

Taiwan country controls 55% of global chip manufacturing capacity. And there is no question that China wants them back. At the same time, they are experimenting with new ways to share government participation and decision making. Ultimate transparency reigns, with all meeting agendas and minutes posted on the internet/ They use "quadratic voting" to get the general populace input on government decisions and legislation.  

U.S. Healthcare - The United States has by far the largest healthcare costs in the world—about twice the level of most other developed nations. Our healthcare system is roughly the size of the entire French economy, but we don’t have the outcomes the French do; in fact, when ranked against other rich nations in terms of things like infant mortality, maternal mortality, and health in young people, the United States comes in toward the very bottom of the list.

Digital Banking. I had pretty much written off the bitcoin craze as a tulip bubble. She seems tremendous potential for the underlying technology to revolutionize banking. 

Hockett, who has been an adviser on some of the digital currency projects just mentioned, hopes to move toward a system of “citizen central banking,” in which everyone, whether or not they have access to a traditional bank account, can have a government-administered digital wallet. “Not only would this end the problem of the ‘unbanked’—meaning people like Chaka—but it would also make the entire process of monetary policy work better,” he says. Instead of the Fed keeping rates low in such a way that allows giant companies to run up debt paying back rich shareholders, central bankers might be able to target the flow of money more specifically to where it is most needed. Essentially, we’d have the national, digital equivalent of a shoebox bank, for all citizens. And different places could have different shoeboxes,

Local economics -  Production and distribution all local. Vertical farming, 3d printed homes, "Slow Cities". 

Food as a defense industry. DARPA is working on technology to create food from air, water and microbes as a key defense move. A more resilient economy 

Education - we need to focus on the skills needed in the coming changes - not general purpose arts degrees that burden families with education loans for decades. 

Conclusion
I could go on, but I trust you get the picture. Amazing collection of information. Amazing insight into how economic and political instructions work. Very positive and hopeful that we can actually make this all work. I pray that she is right. READ the book. Thanks. 

YouTube Options
For my reading challenged friends, here are a few YouTube interviews and presentations that will give you the basic gist of her work. 

https://youtu.be/bzA1ZmqZo9c 
In her illuminating new book, HOMECOMING: The Path to Prosperity in a Post Global World, the Financial Times Global Business Columnist Rana Foroohar shares her views on why the great globalization experiment has failed and what it really means for the US and the world economy. She joins the podcast to talk about her book, the genesis of her thesis, and chronicles her career as an international journalist for some of the world's leading financial publications.  

https://youtu.be/rUxnOHcklPQ The case against big tech firms - Rana Foroohar Ways to change the world

https://youtu.be/Z6FczBh8JVM Rana Foroohar: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business 

https://youtu.be/8KTCCYHb21I  Rana Foroohar: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World - Commonwealth Club 


Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Earth For All: A Survival Guide for Humanity - a book report and summary

 OK - get this book. NOWEarth for All: A Survival Guide for Humanity  $10. 

The book has multiple authors, all scientists, researchers, Club of Rome, etc.

It is at once, the scariest book I have ever read, and the most optimistic I have read in decades. We might be able to actually do something about this mess we have created. The authors are very convincing about that - which is a good thing - because the alternative is, frankly, scary as hell. Further on, I go on a bit about what I found in the book, but the review posted at Amazon is as good as it gets, so here it is: 
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Earth For All is both an antidote to despair and a road map to a better future. Using powerful state-of-the-art computer modeling to explore policies likely to deliver the most good for the majority of people, a leading group of scientists and economists from around the world present five extraordinary turnarounds to achieve prosperity for all within planetary limits in a single generation. Coverage includes: 

  • Results of new global modeling that indicates falling well-being and rising social tensions heighten risk of regional societal collapses
  • Two alternative scenarios – Too-Little-Too-Late vs The Giant Leap – and what they mean for our collective future
  • Five system-shifting steps that can upend poverty and inequality, lift up marginalized people, and transform our food and energy systems by 2050
  • A clear pathway to reboot our global economic system so it works for all people and the planet.

Written in an open, accessible, and inspirational style using clear language and high impact visuals, Earth For All is a profound vision for uncertain times and a map to a better future.

This survival guide for humanity is required reading for everyone concerned about living well on a fragile planet.
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For another excellent review, see:
    https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/2022/09/alternative-growth-save-humanity.

Yes, they are talking about ending poverty, ending inequality, transforming food and energy, and changing global trade and economics. They propose concrete steps to accomplish that, and they spell out the very real costs to accomplish those goals. 

And, yes, it will cost YOU something - but the price is very doable, and the ROI is immense. What it costs you is not a donation - it requires a shift in your thinking. Even if you are the wealthiest human on earth, what good does that "wealth" do if there is nothing left of the society and culture and people? Currency will not be a thing. You could put it into gold or diamonds - but those things are actually worthless trinkets if there is no social infrastructure to value them. When hundreds of millions of us need a bit of dry earth, we are not going to be polite about it. You really cannot store up enough food and water and air for a lifetime - without our help. 

Think about it a bit. 

SO; what can you do? The website has some concrete suggestions: https://www.earth4all.life/

WE can do this - but it will take a huge change by a lot of us. Think of it as an exponential growth thing - if every one of us can engage 2 more of us - that becomes a huge multiplier. 

RESOURCES